Florida Attempting to Regulate Private Mortgages

The Florida legislature kicked off its legislative session by introducing Florida Senate Bill 894 and House Bill 935, legislation that would regulate seller carryback mortgages on non-owner-occupied homes.

On January 18, the bill passed the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee with a 13-1 vote in favor. On January 24, the House Commerce Committee passed the bill on a unanimous vote. The Senate similarly passed the bill on a unanimous vote in the Senate Banking and Insurance committee on January 23. The bills are expected to move through the Florida legislature and have strong bipartisan support.

An almost identical bill previously passed through the legislature in May 2017, but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Scott in June. Governor Scott issued a letter at the time stating that the regulation “would make Florida one of the most restrictive states in the nation in the residential mortgage lending arena.” It is unclear whether the new bills with their limited exemptions would sufficiently address Governor Scott’s concerns of over-regulation.